Despite a number of crashes with motorcycles, Tesla wants to introduce Full Self-Driving (previously called ‘autopilot’) in Europe.

Tesla has requested early access, pilot release programs or exemptions where possible. In a statement on X, Tesla now claims that the Dutch approval authority RDW will grant them an exemption for the feature. Current UN and EU regulations make Full Self-Driving illegal in its current form. A Tesla statement says: “Currently, RDW has committed to granting Netherlands National approval in February 2026. Upon NL National approval, other EU countries can immediately recognize the exemption and also allow rollout within their country.”

RDW’s response however is a bit more realistic. From the RDW’s statement: “On November 22, 2025, Tesla posted a message on X about Full Self Driving Supervised (FSD Supervised) in which the RDW is mentioned. We do not share details about pending applications from manufacturers because this is market- and competition-sensitive information. We can, however, mention that the RDW has drawn up a schedule with Tesla, in which Tesla is expected to demonstrate that FSD Supervised meets the requirements by February 2026. The RDW and Tesla are aware of the efforts required to reach a decision on this in February. Whether the schedule will be met remains to be seen in the coming period. (Traffic) safety is the RDW’s top priority. Road safety is paramount for the RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority): approval is only possible once the safety of the system has been convincingly demonstrated.”

RDW continues: “When a manufacturer wishes to introduce a new technology in Europe for which no legislation is yet available, they can use a European procedure. Based on this legislation, it is possible to obtain an exemption for the market approval of new technologies in the European Union. To obtain this exemption, a Member State must submit an application to the European Commission on behalf of the manufacturer. This means that the Netherlands (via the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management) submits the application. This is stipulated in European Regulation (EU) 2018/858. Approval requires a majority vote within the responsible EU committee. If a majority votes in favor, the manufacturer receives an exemption for this new technology in the EU. The exemption is then valid in all Member States, allowing the technology to be used throughout the EU. If there is no majority of votes, the exemption remains valid only within the Netherlands, and this technology may only be used there. Other Member States can then decide for themselves whether to adopt the approval for their territory. Before submitting an application for an exemption for the market authorization of new technologies in the European Union, a manufacturer must first demonstrate that a vehicle or system complies with the regulations. To do this, the manufacturer must undergo a comprehensive test procedure with a type-approval authority. In the Netherlands, this is the RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority). Part of the test procedure includes testing on public roads.”

‘FEMA expects RDW to scrutinize all the claims made by Tesla, and to make absolutely sure that a car using any form of self-driving is tested (and approved!) for all possible scenarios that include motorcycles.’

The US website fuelarc.com investigated a large number of Tesla crashes involving a motorcycle, and concluded: “Tesla’s self-driving technology has serious issues with detecting and responding safely to motorcycles. When the system struggles, it leaves human drivers to pick up the slack when they have been lulled into inattention by a false sense of competency from the self-driving system. That’s a deadly combination, as evidenced by five (or more) fatal Tesla collisions with motorcyclists.” The FuelArc analysis found that in four of the five reviewed fatal crashes in the US involving motorcyclists, the Tesla vehicles struck the motorcyclists in the rear, suggesting the system failed to detect the motorcycle in time, or misclassified it, before the collision.

US safety authorities, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), have opened investigations into a broader set of Tesla crashes that occurred under “reduced roadway visibility conditions” (sun glare, fog, dust). The combination of Full Self-Driving’s marketing, implying high autonomy, plus real-world misuse (drivers not supervising carefully) appears to contribute significantly to risk. In at least one of the motorcycle crashes, the driver admitted to being on his phone use while the automated driving mode was engaged.

Motorcyclists are especially vulnerable because motorcycles are smaller, narrower, and sometimes less visible than cars, which is a challenge for systems relying primarily on cameras and AI vision rather than radar or lidar. This may lead to late or no detection, especially if the system is optimized for cars. Many of the fatal crashes happened when the Tesla collided from behind, indicating a failure in forward object/motorcycle recognition and braking response. Some drivers appear to treat Full Self-Driving as semi-autonomous (or fully autonomous), neglecting required supervision. In reported cases, drivers admitted to distractions like phone use, and the system apparently did not alert them or intervene effectively.

For Full Self-Driving to be considered safe for motorcyclists, we’d need:

• Reliable detection of narrow/moving objects like bikes under all light/traffic/weather conditions.
• A perfectly working fallback system that can always brake/avoid if a human doesn’t react.
• Strict, effective driver-monitoring so that the human is always ready to take over.
• Transparent, independently verified safety data, especially about near-misses or collisions with motorcyclists

Currently, none of these conditions are consistently met for Tesla Full Self-Driving. Instead, what we see is a mix of technological limitations, human-behavior problems, and gaps in testing & regulation.

FEMA expects the Dutch approval authority RDW to scrutinize all the claims made by Tesla, and to make absolutely sure that a car using any form of self-driving is tested (and approved!) for all possible scenarios that include motorcycles, before any such car is allowed on public roads.

Previous articles about Tesla on our website:

‘Self-driving cars must be tested with motorcyclists’. – 27 September 2016

NMCU asks Elon Musk: is Tesla’s ‘autopilot’ properly tested with motorcycles? – 7 October 2016

FEMA and Dutch motorcyclists join forces and question Tesla’s type approval. – 17 October 2016

Are we going to be sacrificed to automated cars? – 1 November 2016

Norwegian motorcyclist tells her story after a crash with a Tesla. – 21 March 2017

FEMA works to make driver assistance systems safe for motorcycles. – 23 March 2017

Update: research into the visibility of motorcyclists by ‘self-driving’ cars. – 19 September 2017

Self-driving cars keep making mistakes. – 8 May 2018

Should we accept automated cars on the road? – 3 September 2019

Will self-driving cars push motorcycles off the road? – 2 February 2021

Autopilot still kills motorcyclists. – 27 September 2022

Written by Wim Taal

This article is subject to FEMA’s copyright